Anglosphere

Grouping of English-speaking nations

This article is about group of English-speaking nations with close political and military ties and their sphere of influence. For usage of English worldwide, see English-speaking world.

The Anglosphere, according to James Bennett (The Anglosphere Challenge)[1]

Core Anglosphere

Middle Anglosphere (states where English is one of several official languages, but not necessarily widely spoken by the native population)

Outer sphere (English-using states of other civilisations)

Periphery (states where English is widely used but is not an official governmental language)

The Anglosphere is the English sphere of influence, with a core group of nations that today maintain close political, diplomatic and military co-operation. While the nations included in different sources vary, the Anglosphere is usually not considered to include all countries where English is an official language, so it is not synonymous with the sphere of anglophones, though commonly included nations are those that were formerly part of the British Empire and retained the English language and English Common Law.

The five core countries of the Anglosphere are usually taken to be Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries enjoy close cultural and diplomatic links with one another and are aligned under military and security programmes (Five Eyes).

## Definitions and variable geometry[edit]

The Anglosphere is the Anglo-American sphere of influence.[a] The term was first coined by the science fiction writer Neal Stephenson in his book The Diamond Age, published in 1995. John Lloyd adopted the term in 2000 and defined it as including English-speaking countries like the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, South Africa, and the British West Indies.[3] James C. Bennett defines anglosphere as "the English-speaking Common Law-based nations of the world",[4] arguing that former British colonies that retained English common law and the English language have done significantly better than counterparts colonised by other European powers.[5] The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the Anglosphere as "the countries of the world in which the English language and cultural values predominate".[6][b] However the Anglosphere is usually not considered to include all countries where English is an official language, so it is not synonymous with anglophone.[7]

### Core Anglosphere[edit]

The definition is usually taken to include Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States[8] in a grouping of developed countries called the core Anglosphere. This term can also less frequently encompass Ireland, Malta and the Commonwealth Caribbean countries.[9][3]

The five core countries in the Anglosphere are developed countries that maintain close cultural and diplomatic links with one another. They are aligned under such military and security programmes as:[10][3][11][12]

* ABCANZ Armies
* Air and Space Interoperability Council (air forces)
* AUSCANNZUKUS (navies)
* Border Five
* Combined Communications Electronics Board (communications electronics)
* Five Eyes (intelligence)
* Five Nations Passport Group
* Migration 5
* The Technical Cooperation Program (technology and science)
* The UKUSA Agreement (signals intelligence).

Relations have traditionally been warm between Anglosphere countries, with bilateral partnerships such as those between Australia and New Zealand, the United States and Canada and the United States and the United Kingdom (the Special Relationship) constituting the most successful partnerships in the world.[13][14][15]

In terms of political systems, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have Charles III as head of state, form part of the Commonwealth of Nations and use the Westminster parliamentary system of government. Most of the core countries have first-past-the-post electoral systems, though Australia and New Zealand have reformed their systems and there are other systems used in some elections in the UK. As a consequence, most core Anglosphere countries have politics dominated by two major parties.

Below is a table comparing the five core countries of the Anglosphere (data for 2022/2023):

Country  | Population  | Land area
(km2)[16] | GDP Nominal
(USD bn)[17] | GDP PPP
(USD bn)[17] | GDP PPP per capita
(USD)[18] | National wealth PPP (USD bn)[19][18][20] | Military spending PPP
(USD bn)[21]

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Australia | 26,009,249[22] | 7,692,020 | 1,707  | 1,718 | 65,366  | 7,661 | 22.0
Canada | 38,708,793[23] | 9,984,670 | 2,089  | 2,385 | 60,177  | 9,971 | 23.3
New Zealand | 5,130,623[24] | 262,443 | 251  | 278 | 54,046  | 1,229 | 3.1
United Kingdom | 67,081,234[25] | 241,930 | 3,158  | 3,846 | 56,471  | 16,208 | 70.2
United States | 332,718,707[26] | 9,833,520 | 26,854  | 26,854 | 80,035  | 114,932 | 734.3
Core Anglosphere  | 469,648,606 | 27,329,350 | 34,059  | 28,115 | 65,700 | 150,001 | 852.9
... as % of World  | 5.9%  | 18.4%  | 32.3%  | 20%  | 3.3×  | 24.9%  | 32.9%

## Culture and economics[edit]

Due to their historic links, the Anglosphere countries share many cultural traits that still persist today. Most countries in the Anglosphere follow the rule of law through common law rather than civil law, and favour democracy with legislative chambers above other political systems.[27] Private property is protected by law or constitution.[28]

Market freedom is high in the five core Anglosphere countries, as all five share the Anglo-Saxon economic model - a capitalist model that emerged in the 1970s based on the Chicago school of economics with origins from the 18th century United Kingdom.[29] The shared sense of globalisation led cities such as New York, London, Los Angeles, Sydney, and Toronto to have considerable impacts on the financial markets and the global economy.[30] Global popular culture has been highly influenced by the United States and the United Kingdom.[28]

## Proponents and critics[edit]

Proponents of the Anglosphere concept typically come from the political right (such as Andrew Roberts of the UK Conservative Party), and critics from the centre-left (for example Michael Ignatieff of the Liberal Party of Canada).

### Proponents[edit]

As early as 1897, Albert Venn Dicey proposed an Anglo-Saxon "intercitizenship" during an address to the Fellows of All Souls at Oxford.[31]

Further information: 19th-century Anglo-Saxonism

The American businessman James C. Bennett,[32] a proponent of the idea that there is something special about the cultural and legal (common law) traditions of English-speaking nations, writes in his 2004 book The Anglosphere Challenge:

> The Anglosphere, as a network civilization without a corresponding political form, has necessarily imprecise boundaries. Geographically, the densest nodes of the Anglosphere are found in the United States and the United Kingdom. English-speaking Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and English-speaking South Africa (who constitute a very small minority in that country) are also significant populations. The English-speaking Caribbean, English-speaking Oceania and the English-speaking educated populations in Africa and India constitute other important nodes.[10]

Bennett argues that there are two challenges confronting his concept of the Anglosphere. The first is finding ways to cope with rapid technological advancement and the second is the geopolitical challenges created by what he assumes will be an increasing gap between anglophone prosperity and economic struggles elsewhere.[33]

British historian Andrew Roberts claims that the Anglosphere has been central in the First World War, Second World War and Cold War. He goes on to contend that anglophone unity is necessary for the defeat of Islamism.[34]

According to a 2003 profile in The Guardian, historian Robert Conquest favoured a British withdrawal from the European Union in favour of creating "a much looser association of English-speaking nations, known as the 'Anglosphere'".[35][36]

#### CANZUK[edit]

Main article: CANZUK

Favourability ratings tend to be overwhelmingly positive between countries within a subset of the core Anglosphere known as CANZUK (consisting of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom),[according to whom?] whose members form part of the Commonwealth of Nations and retain Charles III as head of state. In the wake of the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union (Brexit) as a result of a referendum held in 2016, there has been mounting political and popular support for a loose free travel and common market area to be formed among the CANZUK countries.[37][38][39]

### Criticisms[edit]

In 2000, Michael Ignatieff wrote in an exchange with Robert Conquest, published by the New York Review of Books, that the term neglects the evolution of fundamental legal and cultural differences between the US and the UK, and the ways in which UK and European norms drew closer together during Britain's membership in the EU through regulatory harmonisation. Of Conquest's view of the Anglosphere, Ignatieff writes: "He seems to believe that Britain should either withdraw from Europe or refuse all further measures of cooperation, which would jeopardize Europe's real achievements. He wants Britain to throw in its lot with a union of English-speaking peoples, and I believe this to be a romantic illusion".[40]

In 2016, Nick Cohen wrote in an article titled "It's a Eurosceptic fantasy that the 'Anglosphere' wants Brexit" for The Spectator's Coffee House blog: "'Anglosphere' is just the right's PC replacement for what we used to call in blunter times 'the white Commonwealth'."[41][42] He repeated this criticism in another article for The Guardian in 2018.[43] Similar criticism was presented by other critics such as Canadian academic Srđan Vučetić.[44][45]

In 2018, amidst the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, two British professors of public policy Michael Kenny and Nick Pearce published a critical scholarly monograph titled Shadows of Empire: The Anglosphere in British Politics (ISBN 978-1509516612). In one of a series of accompanying opinion pieces, they questioned:[46]

> The tragedy of the different national orientations that have emerged in British politics after empire—whether pro-European, Anglo-American, Anglospheric or some combination of these—is that none of them has yet been the compelling, coherent and popular answer to the country's most important question: How should Britain find its way in the wider, modern world?

They stated in another article:[47]

> Meanwhile, the other core English-speaking countries to which the Anglosphere refers, show no serious inclination to join the UK in forging new political and economic alliances. They will, most likely, continue to work within existing regional and international institutions and remain indifferent to – or simply perplexed by – calls for some kind of formalised Anglosphere alliance.

## Opinion polls[edit]

A 2020 poll by YouGov revealed that Australia was the most positively viewed country by Americans outside of the United States, followed by Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Italy and New Zealand.[48] Another 2020 poll by YouGov showed that New Zealand, Canada and Australia were the most positively viewed countries by British people, and more favourably viewed by British people than the United Kingdom itself, with the United States ranking 34th.[49]

A 2023 poll by the Lowy Institute similarly indicated that New Zealand was the country most positively viewed by Australians, with Canada ranking second, the UK third and the United States twelfth.[50] A 2020 poll by the Macdonald–Laurier Institute suggested that Australia was the most positively viewed country by Canadians.[51] In a 2019 Pew Research Center poll, a plurality of Canadians and Australians named the United States as their country's closest ally.[52]

## See also[edit]

* Anglo-Americans
* AUKUS
* British diaspora
* English-speaking world
* Eurosphere; Francosphere (French), Hispanosphere (Spanish), Lusosphere (Portuguese)
* Five Power Defence Arrangements
* History of the English-Speaking Peoples (Winston Churchill)
* JUSCANZ
* List of countries and territories where English is an official language
* List of countries by English-speaking population
* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP)

Portal:

* British Empire

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ "The Anglosphere – shorthand for the Anglo-American sphere of influence – established the concept and structure of the modern transnational community.... The Anglosphere (in the narrow sense of the former British Empire, including Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the US) has been the architect and a staunch proponent of international norms."[2]
2. ^ "The group of countries where English is the main native language." (Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (6th ed.), Oxford University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-0-19-920687-2 ).

## References[edit]

### Citations[edit]

1. ^ Browning, Christopher S. and Tonra, Ben (2010) "Beyond the West and towards the Anglosphere?" In: Browning, Christopher S. and Lehti, Marko, (eds.) The struggle for the West: a divided and contested legacy. Abingdon, Oxfordshire; New York: Routledge, pp. 161–181. ISBN 9780415476836: https://www.academia.edu/341929/Beyond_the_West_and_Towards_the_Anglosphere Archived 3 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine
2. ^ Davies et al. 2013.
3. ^ a b c Lloyd 2000.
4. ^ Bennett, 2004b, pp. 3, 67.
5. ^ Bennett 2007, pp. 42–43.
6. ^ Merriam-Webster Staff (2010). "Anglosphere". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
7. ^ "The Anglosphere and its Others: The 'English-speaking Peoples' in a Changing World Order – British Academy". British Academy. Archived from the original on 22 April 2017. Retrieved 26 January 2018.
8. ^ "The Anglosphere: Past, present and future". The British Academy.
9. ^ Kuper, Simon (21 November 2014). "Which way is Ireland going?". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
10. ^ a b Bennett, 2004b, p. 80.
11. ^ Legrand 2015.
12. ^ Legrand 2016.
13. ^ "The Trans-Tasman Relationship: A New Zealand Perspective" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 August 2006. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
14. ^ "U.S. and Canada: The World's Most Successful Bilateral Relationship". RealClearWorld. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 28 December 2017. Retrieved 27 December 2017.
15. ^ Marsh, Steve (1 June 2012). "'Global Security: US–UK relations': lessons for the special relationship?". Journal of Transatlantic Studies. 10 (2): 182–199. doi:10.1080/14794012.2012.678119. S2CID 145271477.
16. ^ "FAOSTAT". www.fao.org. Archived from the original on 12 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
17. ^ a b "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". IMF. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
18. ^ a b "World Economic Outlook Database: October 2021". IMF. Archived from the original on 12 October 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
19. ^ "Credit Suisse Global Wealth Databook 2021" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
20. ^ Credit Suisse figures adjusted using IMF WEO Oct 2021 GDP-PPP exchange rates.
21. ^ Robertson, Peter E. (2022). "The Real Military Balance: International Comparisons of Defense Spending". Review of Income and Wealth. 68 (3): 797–818. doi:10.1111/roiw.12536. ISSN 1475-4991. S2CID 240601701. Archived from the original on 13 May 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
22. ^ "Population clock". www.abs.gov.au. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
23. ^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (11 July 2018). "Canada's population clock (real-time model)". www150.statcan.gc.ca. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
24. ^ "Population clock". archive.stats.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
25. ^ "Population estimates for the UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-2020". www.ons.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 25 June 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
26. ^ "Population Clock". www.census.gov. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
27. ^ "The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 10 May 2013. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
28. ^ a b Michael Chertoff; et al. (2008). Building an Americanization Movement for the Twenty-first Century: A Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on New Americans (PDF). Washington D.C. ISBN 978-0-16-082095-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 July 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2019.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
29. ^ Kidd, John B.; Richter, Frank-Jürgen (2006). Development models, globalization and economies : a search for the Holy Grail?. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0230523555. OCLC 71339998.
30. ^ "Global Cities Index 2019". A.T. Kearney. Archived from the original on 20 December 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
31. ^ L. Dyer, "Anglo-Saxon Citizenship", The Barrister 3 (1897):107. Cited in Dimitry Kochenov (2019) Citizenship ISBN 9780262537797, page 139.
32. ^ Reynolds, Glenn (28 October 2004). "Explaining the 'Anglosphere'". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
33. ^ Bennett, 2004b[page needed]
34. ^ Roberts 2006[page needed]
35. ^ Brown 2003.
36. ^ "The power of the Anglosphere in Eurosceptical thought". 10 December 2015. Archived from the original on 1 August 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2018.
37. ^ "CANZUK, Conservatives and Canada: Marching backward to empire – iPolitics". 24 February 2017. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
38. ^ "UK public strongly backs freedom to live and work in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
39. ^ "Survey Reveals Support For CANZUK Free Movement". CANZUK International. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
40. ^ Conquest & Reply by Ignatieff 2000.
41. ^ Cohen, Nick (12 April 2016). "It's a Eurosceptic fantasy that the 'Anglosphere' wants Brexit - Coffee House". Archived from the original on 28 February 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
42. ^ "The Guardian view on the EU debate: it's about much more than migration | Editorial". The Guardian. 1 June 2016. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020 - via www.theguardian.com.
43. ^ Cohen, Nick (14 July 2018). "Brexit Britain is out of options. Our humiliation is painful to watch - Nick Cohen". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 December 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
44. ^ Vucetic, Srdjan (24 February 2017). "CANZUK, Conservatives and Canada: Marching backward to empire - iPolitics". Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
45. ^ Vucetic, Srdjan (26 April 2016). "Canada and the Anglo World – where do we stand?". OpenCanada. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
46. ^ Kenny, Michael; Pearce, Nick (13 July 2018). "Opinion – Britain, Time to Let Go of the 'Anglosphere'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
47. ^ Kenny, Michael; Pearce, Nick (11 May 2018). "In the shadows of empire: how the Anglosphere dream lives on – UK in a changing Europe". Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
48. ^ "What countries do Americans like most? | YouGov". today.yougov.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
49. ^ "New Zealand is Britons' favourite country | YouGov". yougov.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 December 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
50. ^ "Poll". Lowy Institute. 2023.
51. ^ "Canada's Role in the World – Part One: A Macdonald-Laurier Institute poll (November 2020)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
52. ^ "Countries where the U.S. is seen as top ally". Pew Research. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.

### Bibliography[edit]

* Bell, Duncan (19 January 2017). "The Anglosphere: new enthusiasm for an old dream". Prospect.
* Bellocchio, Luca (2006). Anglosfera. Forma e forza del nuovo Pan-Anglismo. Genova, Il Melangolo. ISBN 978-88-7018-601-7.
* Bennett, James C. (2004). "Dreaming Europe in a Wide-Awake World". The National Interest (78): 119–129. ISSN 0884-9382. JSTOR 42897514.
* Bennett, James C. (2004). The Anglosphere Challenge: Why the English-Speaking Nations Will Lead the Way in the Twenty-First Century. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0742533325.
* Bennett, James C. (2007). The Third Anglosphere Century: The English-Speaking World in an Era of Transition. The Heritage Foundation. ASIN 0891952772.
* Brown, Andrew (15 February 2003). "Scourge and poet". The Guardian.
* Conquest, Robert; Reply by Ignatieff, Michael (23 March 2000). "The 'Anglosphere'". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 24 July 2007.
* Davies, Andrew; Dobell, Graeme; Jennings, Peter; Norgrove, Sarah; Smith, Andrew; Stuart, Nic; White, Hugh (2013). "Keep calm and carry on: Reflections on the Anglosphere". Australian Strategic Policy Institute. `{{cite journal}}`: Cite journal requires `|journal=` (help)
* Hannan, Daniel (2 March 2014). "The Anglosphere is alive and well, but I wonder whether it needs a better name". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2016.
* Kenny, Michael; Pearce, Nick (2015). "The rise of the Anglosphere: how the right dreamed up a new conservative world order". New Statesman. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
* Kenny, Michael; Pearce, Nick (2018). Shadows of Empire: The Anglosphere in British Politics. Polity. ISBN 978-1-509-51660-5.
* Legrand, Tim (1 December 2015). "Transgovernmental Policy Networks in the Anglosphere". Public Administration. 93 (4): 973–991. doi:10.1111/padm.12198.
* Legrand, Tim (22 June 2016). "Elite, exclusive and elusive: transgovernmental policy networks and iterative policy transfer in the Anglosphere". Policy Studies. 37 (5): 440–455. doi:10.1080/01442872.2016.1188912. S2CID 156577293.
* Lloyd, John (2000). "The Anglosphere Project". New Statesman. Retrieved 30 November 2012.
* Parulekar, Shashi; Kotkin, Joel (2012). "The State of the Anglosphere". City Journal.
* Pomerantsev, Peter (13 July 2016). "The idealistic pull of the 'Anglosphere'". Politico Europe.
* Roberts, Andrew (2006). A History of the English-Speaking Peoples Since 1900. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0297850762.
* Vucetic, Srdjan (2011). The Anglosphere: A Genealogy of a Racialized Identity in International Relations. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-7224-2.
* Wellings, Ben (2017). "The Anglosphere in the Brexit Referendum". Revue française de civilisation britannique. XXII (2). doi:10.4000/rfcb.1354.

## External links[edit]

Look up Anglosphere in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

* James C. Bennett (2002) An Anglosphere Primer, presented to the Foreign Policy Research Institute
* BBC Radio 4: Archive on 4 (2017-12-16): Return of the Anglosphere
* From Insularity to Exteriority: How the Anglosphere is Shaping Global Governance – Centre for International Policy Studies

* v
* t
* e

English-speaking world

English speaking countries

Further links

| Articles|

* English-speaking world
* History of the English language
* British Empire
* English in the Commonwealth of Nations
* Anglosphere

|

Lists|

* List of countries by English-speaking population
* List of countries where English is an official language

|  |

* Countries and territories where English is the national language or the native language of the majority

Africa|

* Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Americas|

* Anguilla
* Antigua and Barbuda
* The Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bermuda
* British Virgin Islands
* Canada
* Cayman Islands
* Dominica
* Falkland Islands
* Grenada
* Guyana
* Jamaica
* Montserrat
* Saba
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Sint Eustatius
* Sint Maarten
* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* United States
* United States Virgin Islands

Europe|

* Guernsey
* Ireland
* Isle of Man
* Jersey
* United Kingdom

Oceania|

* Australia
* New Zealand
* Norfolk Island
* Pitcairn Islands

* Countries and territories where English is an official language, but not the majority first language

Africa|

* Botswana
* Cameroon
* Eswatini
* The Gambia
* Ghana
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Malawi
* Mauritius
* Namibia
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* Sierra Leone
* Somaliland
* South Africa
* South Sudan
* Sudan
* Tanzania
* Uganda
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Americas|

* Puerto Rico

Asia|

* Christmas Island
* Cocos (Keeling) Islands
* Hong Kong
* India
* Pakistan
* Philippines
* Singapore

Europe|

* Gibraltar
* Akrotiri and Dhekelia
* Malta

Oceania|

* American Samoa
* Cook Islands
* Fiji
* Guam
* Kiribati
* Marshall Islands
* Micronesia
* Nauru
* Niue
* Northern Mariana Islands
* Palau
* Papua New Guinea
* Samoa
* Solomon Islands
* Tokelau
* Tuvalu
* Vanuatu

Dependencies shown in italics.

* v
* t
* e

British Empire

Legend
Current territory
Former territory
* Now a Commonwealth realm
Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Culture:Anglosphere

Europe

* 1542–1800 Ireland (integrated into the UK)
* 1708–1757, 1763–1782 and 1798–1802 Minorca
* Since 1713 Gibraltar
* 1794–1796 Corsica
* 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate)
* 1813–1964 Malta (Colony)
* 1807–1890 Heligoland
* 1809–1864 Ionian Islands
* 1878–1960 Cyprus
* 1921–1931 Irish Free State
* Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus)

* v
* t
* e

Africa

| 17th and 18th centuries| 19th century| 20th century

|
|

* Since 1658 Saint Helena23
* 1792–1961 Sierra Leone
* 1795–1803 Cape Colony

* Since 1815 Ascension Island23
* Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha23
* 1806–1910 Cape of Good Hope
* 1807–1808 Madeira
* 1810–1968 Mauritius
* 1816–1965 The Gambia
* 1856–1910 Natal
* 1862–1906 Lagos
* 1868–1966 Basutoland6
* 1874–1957 Gold Coast7
* 1882–1922 Egypt

* 1884–1900 Niger Coast
* 1884–1966 Bechuanaland8
* 1884–1960 Somaliland
* 1887–1897 Zululand
* 1890–1962 Uganda
* 1890–1963 Zanzibar9
* 1891–1964 Nyasaland10
* 1891–1907 Central Africa
* 1893–1968 Swaziland11
* 1895–1920 East Africa
* 1899–1956 Sudan

* 1900–1914 Northern Nigeria
* 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria
* 1900–1910 Orange River
* 1900–1910 Transvaal
* 1903–1976 Seychelles
* 1910–1931 South Africa
* 1914–1960 Nigeria
* 1915–1931 South-West Africa12
* 1919–1961 Cameroons13
* 1920–1963 Kenya
* 1922–1961 Tanganyika13
* 1923–1965 and 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia14
* 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia15

* 6\. Now Lesotho.
* 7\. Now Ghana.
* 8\. Now Botswana.
* 9\. Now part of Tanzania.
* 10\. Now Malawi.
* 11\. Now named Eswatini.
* 12\. Now Namibia.
* 13. League of Nations mandate. British Cameroons is now part of Cameroon, while Tanganyika is part of Tanzania.
* 14. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.
* 15\. Now Zambia.

* v
* t
* e

Asia

| 17th and 18th centuries| 19th century| 20th century

|
|

* 1685–1824 Bencoolen
* 1702–1705 Pulo Condore
* 1757–1947 Bengal
* 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite
* 1781–1784 and 1795–1819 Padang
* 1786–1946 Penang
* 1795–1948 Ceylon16
* 1796–1965 Maldives

* 1811–1816 Java
* 1812–1824 Banka and Billiton
* 1819–1826 Malaya
* 1824–1948 Burma
* 1826–1946 Straits Settlements
* 1839–1967 Aden Colony
* 1839–1842 Afghanistan
* 1841–1997 Hong Kong
* 1841–1946 Sarawak17
* 1848–1946 Labuan
* 1858–1947 India18
* 1874–1963 Borneo

* 1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate)
* 1882–1963 North Borneo17
* 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States
* 1888–1984 Brunei
* 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman
* 1892–1971 Trucial States
* 1895–1946 Federated Malay States
* 1898–1930 Weihai
* 1878–1960 Cyprus

* 1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate)
* 1918–1961 Kuwait
* 1920–1932 Mesopotamia19
* 1921–1946 Transjordan8
* 1923–1948 Palestine19
* 1945–1946 South Vietnam
* 1946–1963 North Borneo
* 1946–1963 Sarawak
* 1946–1963 Singapore
* 1946–1948 Malayan Union
* 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya17
* Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and Seychelles)

* 16\. Now Sri Lanka.
* 17\. Now part of Malaysia.
* 18\. Now India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
* 19. League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

* v
* t
* e

North America

| 17th century and before| 18th century| 19th and 20th centuries

|
|

* 1579 New Albion
* 16th c.–1880 British Arctic Territories
* 1583–1907 Newfoundland
* 1605–1979 *Saint Lucia
* 1607–1776 Virginia
* Since 1619 Bermuda
* 1620–1691 Plymouth
* 1623–1983 Saint Kitts
* 1624–1966 *Barbados
* 1625–1650 Saint Croix
* 1627–1979 *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* 1628–1983 Nevis
* 1629–1691 Massachusetts-Bay
* 1632–1776 Maryland
* since 1632 Montserrat
* 1632–1860 Antigua
* 1635–1644 Saybrook
* 1636–1776 Connecticut
* 1636–1776 Rhode Island
* 1637–1662 New Haven

* 1643–1860 Bay Islands
* Since 1650 Anguilla
* 1655–1860 Mosquito Coast
* 1655–1962 *Jamaica
* 1663–1712 Carolina
* 1664–1776 New-York
* 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New-Jersey
* Since 1666 Virgin Islands
* Since 1670 Cayman Islands
* 1670–1973 *Bahamas
* 1670–1870 Rupert's Land
* 1671–1816 Leeward Islands
* 1674–1702 East Jersey
* 1674–1702 West Jersey
* 1680–1776 New Hampshire
* 1681–1776 Pennsylvania
* 1686–1689 New England
* 1691–1776 Massachusetts-Bay

* 1701–1776 Delaware
* 1712–1776 North-Carolina
* 1712–1776 South-Carolina
* 1713–1867 Nova-Scotia
* 1733–1776 Georgia
* 1754–1820 Cape Breton Island
* 1762–1974 *Grenada
* 1763–1978 Dominica
* 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island
* 1763–1791 Quebec
* 1763–1783 East Florida
* 1763–1783 West Florida
* 1784–1867 New Brunswick
* 1791–1841 Lower Canada
* 1791–1841 Upper Canada
* Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands

* 1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country1
* 1833–1960 Windward Islands
* 1833–1960 Leeward Islands
* 1841–1867 Canada
* 1843 Paulet affair
* 1849–1866 Vancouver Island
* 1853–1863 Queen Charlotte Islands
* 1858–1866 British Columbia
* 1859–1870 North-Western Territory
* 1860–1981 *Antigua and Barbuda
* 1862–1863 Stickeen
* 1866–1871 British Columbia
* 1867–1931 *Dominion of Canada2
* 1871–1981 *Belize
* 1882–1983 *Saint Kitts and Nevis
* 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago
* 1907–1949 Newfoundland3
* 1958–1962 West Indies Federation
* 1967–1983 West Indies Associated States

* 1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
* 2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Name of Canada.
* 3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

* v
* t
* e

Oceania

| 18th and 19th centuries| 20th century

|

* 1788–1901 New South Wales
* 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania
* 1807–1863 Auckland Islands20
* 1824–1980 New Hebrides21
* 1824–1901 Queensland
* 1829–1901 Swan River/Western Australia
* 1836–1901 South Australia
* since 1838 Pitcairn Islands

* 1841–1907 New Zealand
* 1846–1847 North Australia
* 1851–1901 Victoria
* 1874–1970 Fiji
* 1877–1976 Western Pacific Territories
* 1884–1902 Papua
* 1888–1901 Rarotonga/Cook Islands20
* 1889–1948 Union Islands20
* 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands22
* 1893–1978 *Solomon Islands

* 1900–1970 Tonga
* 1900–1974 Niue20
* 1901–1942 *Australia
* 1907–1947 *New Zealand
* 1914–1962 Samoa
* 1919–1942 and 1945–1968 Nauru

* 20. Now part of the *Realm of New Zealand.
* 21\. Now Vanuatu.
* 22. Now Kiribati and *Tuvalu.

South America

* 1631–1641 Providence Island
* 1651–1667 Willoughbyland
* 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands4
* 1831–1966 Guiana
* Since 1833 Falkland Islands5
* Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands5

* 4. Now a department of Colombia.
* 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.

Antarctica and the South Atlantic

* Since 1658 Saint Helena23
* Since 1815 Ascension Island23
* Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha23
* Since 1833 Falkland Islands
* 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia)
* 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)
* Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory24
* Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands24

* 23. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena.
* 24. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

* Historical flags of the British Empire

* Category
* Commons
* Portal

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template